Lucky charm! Japanese traditional sushi: Inarizushi
Have you eaten inarizushi? I think you have seen it is sold in some Japanese restaurants such as SUSHI HUB in Melbourne. However, inarizushi is really easy to cook at home! So, I’ll share a basic recipe with you.
What is inarizushi? Inarizushi’s history and how we eat it
Inarizushi is a kind of sushi, made from sushi rice stuffed in sweet soy sauce flavoured aburaage. Aburaage is thinly sliced, deep-fried tofu. It often used in Japanese food. You can buy it at asian supermarkets, usually in the freezer.
Inarizushi is actually related to the shrine called Inari Shrine. The god of Inari shrine is the Japanese god of fertility, rice, tea and sake, of agriculture and industry, of general prosperity, and worldly success. The fox is a famous symbol of Inari Shrine. The fox is a genus of God, it is said that aburaage is one of the fox’s favourite food of the fox.
In addition, Inarizushi is known as a lucky charm food because it’s also a food for offering to the gods. For example, when we have a university entrance exam, mothers make inarizushi because it has the meaning of good luck.
However, inarizushi is often sold at convenience stores and supermarkets in Japan, so though it’s known as a lucky charm, it’s also eaten like fast food.
Kohei is eating inarizushi while studying for an exam.
How to make inarizushi
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 2 (8 inarizushi)
Aburaage
Ingredients
4 aburaage (deep-fried tofu)
Seasonings
200ml water
30ml mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
30ml soy sauce
18g sugar
Sushi rice
Ingredients
1cup (about 150g) rice
4g white sesame seeds
Seasonings
30g Rice vinegar
9g sugar
3g salt
Method
1. Cook rice a little harder than usual. (In the case of 1 cup of rice, put 180ml water in uncooked rice to make a little harder rice.)
2. Cut the aburaage pieces in half and open the aburaage pouch gently without breaking.
3. Put aburaage in a small mesh colander, pour plenty of boiling water to remove aburaage’s excess oil.
4. Squeeze out the water after cooling down.
5. Put all aburaage seasonings and aburaage in the pot. Heat it on low medium heat, drop a piece of aluminum foil directly on top to cover it entirely, and then boil it down for 10 minutes. Leave to cool.
6. Put all seasoning in the cooked rice to make sushi rice and mix them in the bowl. Leave it to cool down and put white sesame seeds in the rice and mix again.
7. Lightly squeeze the aburaage broth after cooling down and keep the broth in the bowl.
8. Make 8 round and cylinder shape sushi rice balls while putting the aburaage broth on your hand.
9. Open the aburaage pouch and insert one sushi rice ball and press it lightly with your fingers so that the sushi rice spreads all the way to the back.
10. Close the all side like the below photo.
11. Repeat to put them until finishing all.
12. All done! You can eat the delicious inarizushi.
I actually never have made it in Japan, so this was my first time making it. It was easy to make and delicious. I think it would. be fun to make it with someone.
Writer: Yuki Takatani
Reference:
*1 いなり寿司を学ぶ│いなり寿司の歴史と地域特色を紹介, 甘くておいしいいなり寿司は実は縁起物！？いなり寿司の歴史と縁起物の理由とは？ | 縁起物に関わる情報サイト「縁起物百科事典」